Shadow of Deceit
by Lady Arrow
Summary: When sixyearold Sydney Bristow and Irina Derevko die in a fatal car accident, they leave Nadia and Jack Bristow behind. But deceptions make their way to the surface, and everything that has happened is doubted...
1. The Beginning

This fan fiction is co-written by myself and phoenix shotgun 47. We both met on and are both major Alias fans. Her favourite character is Michael Vaughn while mine is Nadia Santos. She came up with the idea for the story and I have the honour of helping out!

This chapter is written by phoenix shotgun 47

-1-

The Beginning

As Jack Bristow stepped out of his black Jaguar and onto the perfect green grass of his front lawn, he couldn't help but smile. He was finally home after a week-long business trip. A single tree stood in the corner of the lawn, but the pristinely cut grass beneath it was spotless of leaves.

When he walked into the house, he took a sharp left into his small office, placing his briefcase safely on the desk. He slipped off his suit jacket and dropped it onto the chair. Smelling the air, he knew that his wife was cooking her special spaghetti and meat balls in celebration of him coming home.

As he was loosening his tie, he heard the distant sound of small feet pounding against the hardwood floor.

"Daddy!" The little voice shrieked, her brown pigtails swishing as she ran to her father, wrapping her short arms around her father's legs.

Jack smiled and bent down, pulling his 6-year-old daughter, Sydney, into his arms. "How's my gorgeous little princess?" He asked, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Good," she responded. "Daddy, you missed Christmas again." Sydney said quietly, a look of sadness flashing in her eyes.

Jack felt a pang of guilt stab through his heart. There was no way that he could explain to his innocent child that he had missed Christmas because he was on a mission for the CIA. "I'm so sorry sweetheart." He replied. "But I've got a present for you."

The little girl's solemn expression immediately changed to an excited smile. She giggled and began to squirm in Jack's arms expectantly. He laughed, picking up the small box he had wrapped the night before on the flight home. Jack gently put her back on the ground before giving her the box. She tore off the wrapping paper eagerly, shreds of green paper with candy canes covering the floor. Her small fingers slowly opened up the velvet box. Her eyes widened. There was a beautiful sterling silver heart shaped locket. The words "I Love You" were delicately engraved in elegant cursive.

"See, I put a picture of me and your mom in here." Jack said, showing her how to open the locket. Inside there was a picture of a smiling Jack and Laura Bristow on the day they were married. "That way, we'll always be with you."

"Thanks you daddy." Sydney beamed, hugging her father's neck tightly. "Can you put it on me, please?"

"Sure sweetheart." Jack smiled, putting the necklace around her neck. "You look beautiful." He said, glancing up. He saw his wife standing in the doorway, gazing at them lovingly. He picked Sydney back up and walked to the doorway.

"You're home." Laura said, playing with the collar of his blue oxford shirt.

"Yup." Jack replied, kissing his wife tenderly.

"Look what daddy got me!" Sydney exclaimed, pointing at the necklace. As she moved, Jack winced. She had hit the bruise in his side.

Laura noticed the slight change in Jack's posture. "Sydney sweetie, why don't you go play the piano so Daddy can hear the new song you learned."

"Ok." Sydney jumped down and ran into the living room.

"Are you ok?" Laura asked quietly, reaching over to touch his side. He cringed slightly.

"I'll be fine." Jack replied as the sweet sounds of Dolly's Dreaming reached his ears.

"So the mission went well?" Laura questioned.

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "She's getting really good isn't she." his gaze fixed on his eldest daughter. "I've missed so much."

"Jack." Laura's hand reached up and caressed his cheek.

Before she could say more, Nadia shuffled into the room, holding a stuffed bear and sucking her thumb. She walked over to Jack and tugged at his pant leg. Jack picked her up and began swaying to the music following Irina as she moved into the next room to watch Sydney. "Hi daddy." Nadia said, resting her head on her father's chest.

"Hi angel." Jack said, kissing her black hair.

"Do you have a present for me?" She asked, her eyes shining with hope.

Jack pulled out another box and handed it to his daughter. Setting her down on the couch, he watched her rip open the box to find a small stuffed penguin. She hugged it enthusiastically before looking up at her father.

"Thanks daddy. We missed you." She leaned over and placed a small kiss on his cheek before running over to show Sydney her knew toy.

"Mommy?" Sydney asked sweetly as Laura was making dinner. "Since daddy's back, do you think we could get a movie to celebrate?"

Laura glanced down at her smiling daughter and then over to her husband.

"Sure sweetheart." Jack said. It was the least he could do to make up for Christmas. "Get your coat and we'll go to the store.

"No daddy." Sydney said quickly. "You have to stay here. I want the movie to be a surprise."

Laura laughed. "Ok. Come on Sydney, I'll take you to the store. Do you want to come Nadia?"

The little girl shook her head and continued drawing a picture of her new penguin.

Laura kissed her husband and daughter goodbye. "Ok then, we'll be back in a little while. Please don't burn the dinner." She teased as she grabbed her car keys and led Sydney out the door.

Jack smiled, picking up the spoon and stirring the spaghetti sauce.

O O O O O 

Three hours later and after a dozen phone calls, Laura and Sydney still hadn't returned from the store. After feeding Nadia and putting her to bed, he stood in his dimly lit office, pacing impatiently. Where could they be?

He was so caught up in his thoughts that the ringing of the door bell made him jump. He rushed to the door quickly, flinging it open. Just as he feared 3 police men stood on the other side.

"Jack Bristow?" The tall old officer with a rather large stomach asked in a Southern drawl.

"Yes. Is this about my wife and daughter? Do you know where they are?" Jack asked frantically, all of the calmness and composure he had learned as an agent gone.

"Sir you might want to sit down." The shorter blonde man remarked.

Jack led them in and sat down in the living room.

"Late tonight we got a call about an accident over on Pantano Bridge. We believe that a drunk driver hit your wife's car. She tried to stop but the car skidded on the ice and went over the rails, into the river. It took us awhile to get the car out of the water. The recent rains have turned it into a monster. We're sorry but… we couldn't locate any bodies. We believe that they were swept away." The man said gravely.

Jack didn't breath. He couldn't move. He felt like his heart and soul had just been torn out of his body and thrown into the icy river as well.

The men kept on talking, filling in some of the details, but he was barely listening. A small voice finally brought him back to reality.

"Daddy?" Nadia walked in hesitantly, carrying her penguin and sucking her thumb. "Where's mommy and Syddie?"

Jack felt his throat close up. "I need you to be brave right now Nadia." He whispered, leaning down to look his daughter in the eye. "Your mother and sister… they won't be coming back." Nadia only stared at him with her quiet dark eyes. "They...they're...they're dead," he choked out. Nadia still said nothing, but moved forward and put her arms around her father's shoulders.

O O O O O 

As Jack walked out of the church, all he could feel was the slight warmth emanating from his daughter's hand that was tightly clutching his. The rest of his body felt numb, as if he really wasn't there. The last few days had pasted by in a blur of sobbing, alcohol, and the occasional visits from friends and relatives. The police had never recovered the bodies, so they had a memorial service instead of a funeral. But seeing pictures of his daughter and wife, and imagining them still alive was too much for him.

Jack looked up into the sky, willing himself not to break down in tears again. The sun's bright rays danced across the horizon, casting a warm blissful glow on the surrounding trees. Jack felt like screaming. This was a funeral! It should be raining and thundering and dark and gloomy! There was nothing bright and sunny about today.

It took all of his strength to stop from driving back to his house and drinking himself back into oblivion.

While Jack wallowed in his grief, trying to pull himself together for his only daughter, he was unaware that he was being watched.

Across the street, in a large white van, a man had a pair of binoculars trained on the successful CIA agent. He watched silently, taking a careful assessment, before starting the car and driving away to report to his superiors.

It had worked.


	2. Seventeen Years Later

soccergirl161: Thanks for pointing that alert thing out to me! I wouldn't have even known if you hadn't told me! Thank you for reading our story! We both really appreciate it!

Rapier3: Thanks for reading! Glad you're liking an Alias story, and I hope it's not because it is co-written by me!! ;)

I, Evergreen Mountaineer, wrote this chapter

Chapter Two

17 years later

"We've recently received intel on a group who, for the past twenty years, we thought was a myth." Jack Bristow paced in front of a long table inside the conference room. Outside the building, Los Angeles was sweltering in 90+ degree heat, and inside the CIA's division building it wasn't much better. The air hadn't been working properly and everyone had shed their jackets, ties, and coats hours ago. Everyone except Jack, who was stubbornly sweating the heat out under a sports coat and a silk tie, though his appearance didn't look as sharply cut as it normally did. His gray hair, normally neat and slightly wavy, was plastered against his head and slightly mussed, as Jack kept running his hands through it impatiently. But his green eyes were intense and sharp as ever as he moved around the room. "We haven't found out yet who is in charge of this group, but we have identified several members."

Jack paused before sliding thick folders to his companions in the room. The man on his left was tall, even sitting down, and his dark skin shone with sweat, his top collar button undone. Marcus Dixon pulled the folder to him and opened it, studying the contents with hard eyes, but not speaking yet. Next to Dixon was a young man, in his mid-20s. His name was Michael Vaughn, and he had been with the CIA for a few years already, but he had only recently been promoted as field officer. He had been quite successful on the missions he had been on, many believed that he was soon going to become one of the agency's top agents. His thin face sported a stubble beard, and his light green eyes were focused on the folder which he had just opened with calloused hands. His brow seemed to be furrowed all the time, and now it was even more so. He looked up at Jack as he spoke, then back to the folder.

Jack clicked a button on the remote control he held in his hand and a face appeared on the screen. It was of a woman, and even though the black and white picture was slightly fuzzy, there was no mistaking the malicious look in her eyes. Her hair was long, slightly wavy, and her skin dark. Her eyes glared back at them all and there was a hint of a smile on her lips, as if she knew of the horror and destruction that she had created.

"This is the person in charge of this organization. Her name is Irina Derevko." He paused, but continued a second later, and no one detected the slight change in his voice. It had hardened slightly, but he was able to hid it. "For what we know of her, she worked for the KGB, a Russian organization, and she is one of the most dangerous agents in the field today. Not much has come to us about her, but we know that we can't let her continue." He moved over and paused again.

"Derevko has taken command of this agency and she seems to be gaining more allies every day. But she is deadly, as I have mentioned, and won't stop at anything to achieve her endgame."

"What is her endgame?" Vaughn asked immediately.

"Unfortunately, we don't know," Jack replied, nodding at Vaughn. "What we do know is that she has several agents captured and if she gets her way, they will not survive." he paused again. He didn't know whether to proceed...

A few days ago, a contact had alerted Jack to Irina Derevko's involvement in a foreign group that was intent on achieving an endgame...but no one knew what that was. When Jack saw the first photo of Derevko, he nearly passed out, a very un-Jack Bristow-like reaction. He had seen this woman before. Taking a copy of the picture home with him, he rummaged for hours before he found it. A wedding picture...he held the picture of Derevko up next to the picture of himself and his young bride. Except for twenty-five years difference, the women were identical. It wasn't Irina Derevko, or at least that wasn't her name as he knew it. It was his wife, Laura. She hadn't died. What he could come up with in the following days, was that she had faked her death, joined the KGB, and then created this alliance of enemies. Why she had done this was beyond him, but he was surprised at how quickly he had dismissed her. She was an enemy now.

That wasn't the end of the story. His connection had also provided him with pictures of all of Derevko's agents, or all the agents that they knew of. He had gone through every single one, slowly, methodically, memorizing their names, stats, photos...until he came upon one. It gave him the biggest shock of his life, bigger than when he had first seen Laura's picture. It was a photo of a young woman, early 20s, one of the few colour photos he had. Her hair, shoulder length and straight, was dirty blonde, and her eyes, sharp and intelligent, were dark brown. Her face was serious, but even then he could detect a hint of dimples on her cheeks. What he was shocked about was how much she resembled Irina Derevko. Which means she would resemble Laura...it couldn't be. Again, his dusty photo album came out, and he flipped the pages hastily until he found a picture of a group of people. It took him a few minutes to be able to look at that photo, for it was one of the last ones taken before his wife and daughter had perished in the accident. Finally, he was able to look. Himself, Laura and two young girls. The younger girl was about three years old, but able to stand by herself. Her hair was black and her skin dark, suggesting a South American heritage, his youngest daughter, Nadia. Next to her was her sister of six, whose hair was brown and long and straight, and her eyes held the same intensity. He blinked back tears as he looked at Sydney, his precious daughter.

Jack hadn't wasted any time. He immediately gone to one of his agents within the CIA who specialized in creating images from pictures that were years, even decades old. As Jack had requested, he had created an image of Sydney as she would look today. Again, he could barely bring himself to look over at the photo. It was frightening how much his daughter would have looked like her mother...he compared the image to the picture of the agent working for Derevko. It was a perfect match. It was his daughter. Which meant that she was working with Derevko, working for the same drastic and horrible outcome. But it was his daughter. And he had to save her. In his heart, he thought that Sydney wouldn't turn. She wouldn't be like her mother, evil, possessive. He had to extract her. But he couldn't let his agency know that she was working for Derevko. From then on, Sydney became one of Irina's hostages, an agent they had to save.

"The agent whom we have been instructed to save goes by the name Julia Thorne. She was born and raised in the United States, but was kidnapped and taken overseas to be raised a spy. From what we've heard, she's one of the best spies in the world and has succeeded at many operations. She's being held against her will, however and she is an American, and must be saved." He took a breath. "We've received word that Derevko and her agents are making a move in Australia to capture some diplomats. We're going to interrupt their plans and extract Throne. Vaughn, Weiss, you'll be heading this operation."

A man on the right of Jack looked up briefly before retuning his gaze to the pages in the folder. Eric Weiss was a well-set young man with dark eyes and dark hair and mustache. He was immensely intelligent, and had been working with the agency for several years. Next to him sat a young woman with long dark hair by the name of Nadia. Her dark brown eyes were intently focused on her father, Jack.

"We've planned extraction when they are in Ballarat, North Victoria. We've gotten you into the same party that they will be attending. There you will identify Thorne and get her out of there. Remember, Derevko will most likely be there, or be watching, so you must go in and out with Thorne unidentified and unnoticed. Wheels up in an hour. That's all." Jack clicked off the monitor as the agents around him rose to leave. "Nadia, stay back a moment."

As the others left the room, Nadia closed her folder and stood up. Jack waited until everyone was out of the room before addressing his daughter. "Nadia, there's something I have to tell you." He paused briefly, watching her, but she didn't say anything. He sighed. "There's something I didn't tell everyone about the people in that group. It's called Prophet Five and it is one of the most dangerous groups we have gone up against."

Nadia's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Why didn't you tell everyone else this?"

Jack shook his head. "Just listen."


	3. The Extraction

**Sydney** and **mari6s** Here is the next chapter! Thanks for reading! We appreciate it!

Chapter Three

The Extraction

Michael Vaughn sauntered into the ballroom, a glass of champagne in his hand. After taking a sip, he placed it back on the tray of a passing waiter. His eyes scrutinized every person in the room, searching for Julia Thorne.

"See anything yet Boyscout?" Weiss said over the comm.

"Nothing. Thorne isn't here yet." He replied, slipping though the crowd.

"What can I say, she's a woman. She's probably getting her hair done or her nails manicured." Weiss muttered as he snacked on a crab puff. "Besides, she wants to be fashionably late."

Vaughn chuckled and rolled his eyes. Eric always made the missions more interesting.

Before long, Vaughn was asked to dance by a stunning brunette model. He politely declined, wanting to keep his eyes open for Julia. The model glared at him before strutting back to her entourage of rich, giggling model friends. A few more women asked Vaughn to dance. He turned them all down, sighing. He could hear Weiss muttering to himself over the comm., complaining how even though they were on a mission, Vaughn could still get women but no one had asked him to dance.

"I hope you know that you sound like a 5th grader at his first dance." Vaughn mumbled in amusement. "And maybe no one's asked you to dance because you've permanently stationed yourself where all the food is."

"Fine, fine, mock me pretty boy. One of these days-"

"She's here." Vaughn said urgently, cutting off his friend's ranting. Vaughn felt his heartbeat quicken as a tall beautiful blond walked down the mable steps and into the room.

Her curled hair was pinned up, a few loose strand framing her face. The short red dress hugged her body, almost as if it were a second skin. She didn't have much make up, but she glowed with a natural beauty that he had never seen before. She glanced around the room casually, her eyes lingering on him for a moment before she looked away.

He wove through the crowd until he had reached her side. "May I have this dance?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She studied him intently, almost as if she were trying to read his mind, to learn of his true intentions. After what seemed like a lifetime, she gently placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. He took her into his arms and they began to sway to the music, waltzing. His right hand rested on the bare skin of the small of her back. They began to chat pleasantly, talking about nothing of great importance. Julia tilted her head slightly and he could see the carefully hidden earpiece.

Thinking quickly, he began to tap out a message in Morse code telling her who he was, onto her back. She looked alarmed at first, but relaxed when she realized what he was doing. They glided across the room silently, allowing her to concentrate on decoding his message. Julia looked up into his eyes and nodded slowly. Her arm snaked up his shoulder. She placed her slender fingers on the back of his neck and quickly tapped out a message.

"F.O.L.L.O.W.M.Y.L.E.A.D." Vaughn nodded, relaxing slightly as he gently twirled her.

During the course of the song, their bodies moved progressively closer to each other. Julia had her arms wrapped round his neck, her head resting on his chest. His hands were on the small of her back, resisting the urge to trace small circles onto her skin. She lifted her head and placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. He was shocked at first, but then he understood her plan. He tilted his head and captured her soft, sweet lips in his. They kissed a few more times before she pulled back and whispered, "Let's go somewhere more private." Taking his arm, she led him down to the end of the hallway, pushing open the door. After the door had closed, she pushed Michael up against the wall and kissed him. He let out a small involuntary moan. After a few minutes, she reached up and switched off her comm., backing away from Michael.

"Sorry about that. But I had to make it convincing. They won't come looking for me for awhile." She explained softly. "Your name is Michael right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Michael Vaughn." He nodded, walking over to the window.

"Ok. I was just never good with Morse code… that's all." She explained quietly.

Vaughn smiled, pushed the dark blue curtains aside, and peered out the window. He saw that a large pool was underneath them, with many people swimming around. There was no way they could escape this way without being seen.

"Damn it." He muttered. Then he noticed the door that was partially covered by a large old bookshelf. "Come help me with this." Michael said to Julia and together they pushed the barrier aside.

He jiggled the knob, but as he had predicted, it was locked. Julia reached up into her hair, pulled out two bobby pins and easily picked the lock. They stepped into the previously hidden room and coughed, an inch of dust covering everything. The only light came from the hole in the wall, where a few boards were missing. Vaughn pulled off a couple more boards making the hole larger, a stream of moonlight illuminating the boxes that were being stored in the room.

"Houdini, this is Boyscout. We're on the east side of the building. Meet us at the extraction point in 5 minutes."

"Copy that Boyscout." Eric said, abandoning his faithful post beside the snack table and left to get the van ready.

Vaughn jumped out the window first, rolling into some bushes and hitting his head painfully against a rock. Julia followed him, clutching her high heeled shoes in one hand.

"Why don't you just leave those?" Vaughn whispered as they made their way cautiously through the undergrowth.

"We might need them later." She whispered. Vaughn rolled his eyes and shrugged, a drop of blood sliding down his cheek.

"Run as fast at you can to the other end of the garden. Just beyond that statue of an angel, there's a car waiting." Vaughn instructed gesturing vaguely in the right direction. Julia nodded and took off, barely noticing the pain that crept up her legs as she ran upon the sharp rocks. Vaughn ran after her, amazed at how fast she could run without even breaking into a sweat. He caught a glimpse of the tip of a gun barrel as the moonlight reflected on it.

"Look out!" Vaughn warned as he threw himself forward, knocking Julia to the ground, the rocks stabbing painfully into their bodies. An onslaught of bullets flew past them, missing his head by centimeters. They rolled to the right, hiding in the temporary shelter of a large fountain. Vaughn pulled out his own gun, but there was no way he could get a good clean shot without being in the line of fire. Julia grabbed her shoes, took apart the heels, and pulled out two small grenades. She listened carefully, deducing where the attackers were positioned before she stood up and threw the grenades. The bombs exploded, knocking the men to the ground. A small bush caught on fire and the flames licked the bottom of Julia's dress. She ran through the fountain, dousing the fire. Covered by a blanket of debris and dust, they ran toward the extraction point.

As they ran past a large hedge, two men stepped out. One was grasping a metal bat and he hit Julia squarely in the stomach. She fell to the ground the wind knocked out of her. Without wasting a second, she jumped back up, her foot colliding with the man's leg. He fell to his knees, surprised at how unfazed she was. She picked up the bat he had dropped and struck his head. Dropping the bloody bat, she looked around to find Vaughn. He was fighting off someone who was quite obviously a rookie agent. His fighting skills were no match for Vaughn's. With one final punch, he knocked the young blond to the ground, his head hitting the edge of a concrete bench before he lay motionless.

Vaughn and Julia shared one quick look before they broke into a sprint, covering the short distance to the extraction point easily. Weiss flung the doors open and before they were even fully in the vehicle, the van had taken off. Weiss glanced back at them. The bottom of Julia's dress was damp but slightly singed, her hair covered with dust and debris, dirt caked her face, and she had numerous scratches and cuts on her arms and legs. Vaughn wasn't any better, a large gash on his forehead, a mixture of blood and sweat dripping down his face. His suit was tattered, ripped by their fall onto the rocks.

"Are you ok?" Weiss asked, turning around and watching the road.

"I'm fine." She replied, running her fingers through her hair to dislodge the leaves that had landed there during the explosion.

Vaughn grunted in response, touching the small gash on his head gingerly, his fingers becoming covered in crimson blood.

Julia grabbed the first aid kit, sat down next to him, and began cleaning his wound.

"Thank you." She whispered softly, her fingers dancing across his forehead.

He nodded, not able to find any words to say.


	4. Many Meetings

**AMBERLEAH:** Thank you so much for reading! We are so glad that you are enjoying it so far!

**Mrs.Scott323:** How can one write an Alias story and NOT have a spyfamily reunion? It's pretty much impossible!

**Karandash and mari6s:** Thank you so much for reading, both of you! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

**A/N: This chapter is written by myself, EvergreenMountaineer**

-4-

Many Meetings

Sydney pushed the glass double doors open and walked out of the conference room, trying to hold back a sigh. She had sat through a four hour conference with the director of the Los Angeles branch of the CIA, Hayden Chase and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was go back to the safe house where she was to be staying and go to sleep. She hadn't closed her eyes for 72 hours and it was starting to effect her. Normally she could work on limited hours of sleep, but the travel from Russia to Australia to the United States within two days really took it out of her. She didn't want to hear anymore about her extraction or any other thing about Australia. However, most of the briefing had been to inform her that she was to be an agent for the CIA.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, she had not left CIA headquarters. She had undergone a lie detector test, during which she revealed that Irina Derevko had held her hostage for 17 years. The CIA were fools for believing her story, but Sydney couldn't let anything slip through her cover, and she passed the test with flying colors. After that, she had been thrust back and forth between doctors, administrators, computer specialists and more. Ultimately, her relation to Jack Bristow had helped thrust her into higher-level clearance, as had her story of how she had come by her position.

And so she had fulfilled the first part of her mission, and was now a field agent for the CIA, a double agent for Prophet Five. She had gained the CIA's trust in no time, which, considering her expectations, wasn't a great surprise. She had always been good on making herself convincing.

"Agent Bristow?"

Sydney turned to see Michael Vaughn push open the doors of the conference room and follow her out. He flashed a tired smile at her as he caught up to her. "Hey," he said.

She smiled back at him, trying not to focus too hard on his piercing green eyes. "Hi," she replied.

"Long meeting, huh?" He asked her, walking alongside her.

She sighed at last, not caring what he thought. "Too long," she answered. "I never knew that a meeting could take this long."

Vaughn laughed. "Well, it was your first meeting with the CIA, and its not every day we get a new agent as brilliant as you," His voice faded away as he finished his sentence and she looked up to see his cheeks darkening with red.

She lowered her chin to hide her smile as she said, "Thank you."

Vaughn smiled again. "You're welcome." He stopped and she did as well and he turned to face her. "Do you have any questions about anything?"

She folded her arms across her chest as she shook her head. "I think I understand everything. My job, status, call sign. It's just all crowded in my head right now. I just need some time to get it all sorted out. You know, I've been awake for three days straight. My thinking skills aren't exactly up to par."

"I know what you mean," Vaughn began, but a voice interrupted them.

"Sydney. Vaughn."

The two turned to see Jack striding towards them, having just exited the conference room behind Director Chase. He didn't say anything until he draw even with the pair of agents. Jack looked over the two of them, his eyes lingering on Sydney for a longer moment.

"Sydney, may I have a word, please?" He asked her, trying not to be too gruff, but not succeeding very well.

Sydney surveyed him, her eyes narrowing slightly, but a minute later, she inclined her head shortly. "Sure," she responded, flatly.

Jack looked over at Vaughn. "Vaughn, could you give us a moment?"

Vaughn shifted on his feet, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Yeah, sure," he replied. He gave Sydney another slight smile, and walked away. Sydney watched him cross the room and sit at a desk, but not before he looked back and met her eye. She turned away quickly to look at Jack.

He looked very uncomfortable and couldn't meet her eye, but she didn't notice as she felt an emotion bubbling inside her. She didn't know why she was feeling resentment towards Jack right now, but she was. "We have nothing to talk about," she said a bit too harshly.

"We have plenty to talk about," Jack replied.

"What? Like how you abandoned me and didn't come to get me until now?" Sydney snapped, surprising even herself. She hadn't felt this angry at her father for many years, and why she was suddenly wishing that he had come to extract her was beyond her.

Jack took hold of Syndey's arm as several agents looked up from their computer screens and pulled Sydney into a small room and closed the door, so they could not be overheard. Sydney jerked her arm out of his grip and crossed them over her chest again, but Jack ignored that. "Sydney you have no idea what you're talking about," he told her.

"How long has it been, _Dad_," she sneered, drawing out the word "dad" snidely. "Eighteen years since the accident? Seventeen? Seventeen years and not once have you ever tried to come and get me?"

"I thought you were dead," Jack retorted, gruffly, his face hard. "I never knew you were alive until-"

"Oh, come on," Sydney laughed under her breath.

Jack stopped and looked at his daughter, whose eyes bored into his. He blinked. For a moment, he saw his wife staring back at him. He saw Irina in Sydney. But he shook himself out of it and told her, "I came as soon as I discovered you were alive, Sydney."

She simply looked at him, but he willed himself not to look away from that headstrong glare. After a moment, Sydney shook her head slightly, then pushed the door of the room open and stormed out, not wanting to confront Jack any longer. How could he even think about talking to her right now? Her anger towards him, combined with her hatred towards his involvement with the CIA was clouding her mind and her thoughts. The only thing that interrupted the thoughts whizzing through her head was running headlong into something solid. She reached out and grabbed hold of the young woman before she fell to the ground, catching her and steadying her. "Woah," Sydney exclaimed. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The other woman gained her balance, her own hands on Sydney's arms, and she straightened, pushing her long black hair out of her eyes and behind her shoulders. "No, it's my fault," she returned, her voice tinted in an accent. Her eyes raised to look at the woman who had run into her.

Sydney looked up at the same time and their eyes met. Nothing flickered in the other woman's dark brown, almost black eyes, but Sydney had seen that face somewhere before. Sydney's forehead furrowed as she examined the other woman closely. Her eyes roved the other's body, then moved to her face, and their eyes met again. This time, Sydney caught sight of a look that she had seen somewhere before...a look that had once been directed towards her. Irina was looking out at her from this woman's face. Sydney took a surprised step back, but the other woman's expression turned to concern and Sydney remembered.

_A small hand reached into her line of vision and a voice said, "Syddie, are you ok?You ouched?" The young Sydney looked up from the concrete to where she had fallen and saw the same pair of dark eyes concernedly watching her. Her bicycle lay on the ground beside her, its wheel still rotating after Sydney had crashed and her knees were scraped and bleeding. But Sydney didn't mind a little bit of blood. After all, it was her first time without training wheels and she was young enough as it is to ride a full-sized bike. _

_Sydney took the hand and felt a slight bit of damp on its thumb, as it has just been inside the other's mouth, being sucked on. She looked up again and said, "Yes, I'm fine," and her sister pulled her to her feet, stronger than she looked._

Sydney gasped and looked again at the woman, this time seeing who was standing before her. "Nadia," she whispered. It wasn't a question.

Nadia looked closely at the woman who had caught her. She hadn't been expecting this and her hand went up to her mouth. Her eyes surveyed the other, but they immediately rested upon a small silver locket around the other woman's throat. She had seen that before...

_Dolly's Dreaming was playing. Sydney was practicing piano again. Busy with a crayon in her small hand, Nadia didn't pay attention until she heard her father's voice in the hallway. She looked up, tucking a piece of black hair behind her ear and heard her father walk into the sitting room next door. Putting down her crayon, she got up silently and picked up Mr. Beary, her stuffed bear, and shuffled into the living room. She passed Sydney and looked over as she did to see a shiny silver locket winking at her from her sister's neck. She didn't think of it, as she was intent on seeing her dad. _

_"Hi daddy," she mumbled through a mouth full of thumb._

_"Hi, angel!" He replied, scooping her into his arms._

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked into the other woman's eyes and saw someone she hadn't seen in 17 years. "Sydney," she breathed back, too dumbfounded to move.

Sydney involuntarily moved forward and pulled her sister into a tight embrace. She could think of nothing but Nadia right now, not even her mission. She felt hot tears burn her eyes and swallowed hard, trying to stop from crying, but felt even as she was trying not to, her sister began to shake in her arms.

Nadia couldn't help it. She was weeping with joy. Pulling back, Nadia whispered, "Is it really you, Syd?"

Sydney's own shock at suddenly meeting her sister kept her silent and she only nodded. Her mother had only mentioned Nadia a few times, back when they had just been in the accident, when the six-year-old Sydney had cried for her sister. Irina repeated that Nadia wasn't ever coming until Sydney stopped asking. Irina hadn't mentioned her again, and Sydney had slowly forgotten that she had a sister. Seeing Nadia now, Sydney realized that she may have always known that she had a sister, but 17 years of denial had made her mind erase Nadia. But now she was in front of her and despite knowing her orders and mission, her heart warmed to this beautiful and graceful young woman.

"Oh my God," Nadia laughed through her tears and this time she leaned forward and hugged Sydney tightly, never wanting to let go. Her older sister wasn't dead. Although her dad had told her that Julia Thorne was actually her older sister under alias, Nadia hadn't believed it, or perhaps hadn't expected it. She had grown up believing that Sydney had died along with their mother in an accident and now both were alive and, seemingly, well. She hadn't believed that this Julia Thorne was her sister. Until now. "Syd!"

Sydney pulled back this time, and she carefully wiped a tear from Nadia's cheek. "It's ok. I'm here," she said, but her eyebrows were furrowing. She tried to hide it, though, as she put a hand to her younger sister's cheek. But almost as soon as she put it there, she jerked it away.

"I can't believe it's you," Nadia said, and she looked in shock.

Sydney tried to smile. "Yeah," she whispered. But her mind was once again whirling and she suddenly wanted to get away. "I-I'm sorry," she faltered, and backed up a step. "I-I have to meet Agent Vaughn...excuse me." Abruptly, she turned on her heels and strode away, knowing that she was leaving Nadia behind her, confused and, she was sure, hurt. After turning a corner, she found the restroom and hurried inside, making it to the toilet just in time. After a minute hunched over the bowl, she spat out the last bit of ooze from her mouth and straightened, wiping her mouth with bit of tissue. Her hands was shaking as she placed them on either side of the toilet. The shock of meeting Nadia had caught up with her, but she was confused. Why hadn't her mother told her about Nadia? She hadn't said that Nadia was dead, but she hadn't confirmed her existence either. Meanwhile, her mission was coming to the front of her mind again, but now a different feeling was inside her.

She knew her job, and she knew that she couldn't get close to anyone except Vaughn and even then it was her job, but when she had executed the first embrace with Nadia, she had felt something flutter inside her. An unblemished love for her sister. How she still carried that love with her throughout the years of a forgotten sibling, she didn't know. She knew her mission. But would it be complicated now that she had felt this bond with her long-lost sister? Would Nadia get in the way and cause Sydney to have to eliminate her? She felt sickness coming again and retched once more. After she had finished being sick, she remained knelt in front of the toilet again. She would have to take out Nadia if her sister got in her way in the future, and she knew that. Would she be able to? Sydney shook herself and stood shakily. Enough of this. She was being a fool. She didn't even know this young woman who used to be her little sister. She wasn't going to get attached and she wouldn't hesitate to deal with her if a situation presented itself.

Sydney went to the sink and rinsed her mouth out, then splashed her face with cold water. Shaking her head, she looked at her reflection. A few strands of her straight brown hair were damp from the splashing and framed her face. Her face was set, but she saw in her own eyes that she wasn't quite back to normal. Rolling her head on her neck, Sydney pushed all through out of her head except her mission to get close to Vaughn. If she met Nadia again, and there was no doubt that she would, of course she would talk with her, so as not to blow her cover, but she vowed right then that she would not get close to anyone, not even her sister.

The sound of the door opening shook her out of her stupor and she looked into the mirror to see the reflection of a young woman enter. She was dressed in a black suit, but Sydney could tell that her body was slender and as strong as the light blue eyes that stared at her in turn. She was of medium height, only very slightly taller than Sydney herself, and she carried herself with confidence. Her blond hair was held back in a single French braid, out of her face. She smiled as she crossed to the sink and said, "Hallo," in a heavy British accent.

Sydney smiled, relief spreading over her face, and she leaned forward to embrace the woman, one of her former co agents at Prophet Five. Pulling back, she said, "It's good to see you again, Lauren."


	5. Meeting an Ally

**A/N: Thank you to EVERYONE for your reviews! I hope you continue to enjoy this story! **

**Chapter 5 written by phoenixshotgun47**

**Chapter Five**

O O O O O 

_ Sydney smiled, relief spreading over her face, and she leaned forward to embrace the woman, one of her former co agents at Prophet Five. Pulling back, she said, "It's good to see you again, Lauren."_

Lauren smiled and pulled out a coin from the pocket of her short black skirt. She flicked the small hidden switch before speaking. "It's a bug killer; we've got about a minute. Sydney, it's so good to see you again."

Sydney smiled. "I know; it's been almost 2 years since you left? How are you?"

"Fantastic. How'd you end up here?" Lauren asked curiously.

_ "Sydney darling, sit down." Irina Derevko gestured, pouring 2 cups of iced tea. __Sydney took it gingerly, tracing the rim of the crystal glass with her long, slender, perfectly manicured finger. She finally gave into her thirst. The cold liquid slid down her throat, cooling her body, and relieving a small amount of stress in her muscles. __The sharp taste of cinnamon shocked her tastes buds. She smiled slightly, pleased that her mother had remembered that she wouldn't drink tea unless it was flavored with cinnamon. __She was tempted to drink all of the tea, but refrained, and instead she delicately set the empty cup on the wooden coaster that rested near a picture of her and her mother._

_ She sank back into her seat, getting comfortable. "What's going on?"_

_ "The CIA knows about the operation in Australia." Irina began, drumming her fingers quietly on the desk._

_ "We've dealt with CIA fools before. It shouldn't be too difficult to stop them before they even reach Australia." Sydney said smugly, crossing her legs._

_ "If it were really that easy, I wouldn't have called you in here." Irina retorted. "It's your father."_

_ Sydney cringed at the word. Father. That idiot had no right to be called her father. He had given up on her, not coming to her rescue all those lonely nights when she felt abandoned and homesick, crying herself to sleep. __"You've outsmarted him numerous times; you had him fooled for almost 10 years… this simple operation shouldn't be that hard." Sydney said stubbornly, picking at the bright red nail polish on her thumb._

_ "Sydney, listen to me!" Irina hissed, her hand slapping the table. Sydney looked up at her mother and for a split second she saw a glint of fear in her eyes. "He knows. He knows that I faked my death and he's figured out that you're alive too. He's convinced himself that you're here against your will. He's staged an extraction."_

_ "Here against my will? Does that fool really think that I could he held hostage for almost 20 years and not escape? How did he ever become a spy?" She sneered. "Well the solution is still simple; I won't accompany you on the Australia job. I'll just fly over to New Zealand and meet with some old friends who owe us some favors."_

_ "No. We're being presented with a grand opportunity, my child." Irina's fingers delicately closed around a think manila file. She handed it over to Sydney before continuing. "I've decided that you will let yourself be extracted by them." She held up her hand, silencing her daughter before she had a chance to object. "You'll be a double agent for us."_

_ "We already have someone in the L.A. branch, don't we?" Sydney asked, twirling a lock of hair in her fingers._

_ "We do... but we've found that she isn't as… effective as we would like." Irina said a look of disgust spreading across her face. "The mission is simple. The Joint Task Force is currently researching Milo Rambaldi. We don't know how much they know about him. You must find out and relay anything regarding Rambaldi to us."_

_ "Simple enough." Sydney replied, shaking her head. This was going to be fun. Deceiving a bunch of CIA agents who thought that they were the greatest people in the world. The thought made her smile maliciously. __But the name Rambaldi made her want to roll her eyes. She didn't of course; she could never allow her mother to know that she thought that this Milo Rambaldi stuff was garbage. She knew that Irina would lash out, even on her, if she discovered that she wasn't a true believer._

_ "But there's something I want you to focus on. Open the folder." Irina commanded._

_ Sydney obeyed. Her heart beat faster at the sight of a photograph of a handsome young man paper clipped to the inside of the folder. His smile caused an odd feeling to well up in her heart. She shook the feeling away and focused on her mother's words._

_ "That is Michael Vaughn. He works with your father. Your job is to get especially close to him, seduce him like I did your father. His father, Bill Vaughn, did some research on us and Rambaldi back when he was still alive. We need to know how much Michael Vaughn knows about his father's work and locate any copies of Bill Vaughn's research, if they still exist." Irina replied. "Your plane leaves in 48 hours."_

_ Sydney nodded and walked out of the office, hurrying back to her quarters to prepare. Her black stilettos clicked rhythmically on the cold cement, echoing in the empty tunnel. The dim lights above her flickered, threatening to go out and bathe her in darkness. Turning the corner and walking up a flight of steps, a mixture of excitement and dread came upon her. She was finally going on a deep undercover mission, something she had been yearning for ever since she had started training. But she was also going to have to face her father, face her past._

_ Pulling her large sunglasses down to cover her brown eyes, she stepped out of the cold darkness of the underground passageway and into the beautiful courtyard in the center of Prophet Five headquarters. A warm breeze blew past her, cooling her body. __She greeted a select few of the company's finest agents with a small nod of approval. They returned it, while taking a minute to bask in the glory of being acknowledged by their leader's daughter, one of the most legendary agents in Prophet Five._

_ Sydney sauntered into her room, pushing the door closed with her foot. Tossing her sunglasses onto the small table, she turned on the kitchen light. __"Peyton?" She yelled out, wondering where her roommate was. Getting no response, she figured that Kelly Peyton was out with her boyfriend Simon Walker. Well, at least there'd be no one to bother her while she was preparing. __She walked into her room, juggling the file, a bag of potato chips, and a soda. Plopping onto her bed, she pulled back the curtains, dousing everything in light. __Glancing out, she saw some of the younger agents playing football. This part of the compound resembled a college more than the headquarters for a top secret spy organization. Of course, that was the point. This way, agents felt like they weren't part of a terrorist organization, but a loving community._

_ Sydney snorted, thinking back to the words her mother had said when proposing the idea of renovating the headquarters to the board. Sometimes, she just didn't understand her mother. __Of course, she loved and respected her. Irina Derevko had raised her to become the brilliant agent she was today. But when it came to Rambaldi and her mother's intoxicatingly intense belief that they were working for the greater good, Sydney couldn't help but believe that she was insane. Sydney knew what they were doing was considered wrong to many people. She knew she was evil. And she accepted that. Because being evil was all she'd ever known._

_ Sure there was once a time when she was innocent, but that memory was so long ago, it seemed like a dream. The memories of her early childhood seemed to fade everyday, becoming lost in the memories of her lonesome and isolated past._

_ Right after the accident, Irina had taken her to Russia and left her with her aunt Katya while she went to straighten things out with Prophet Five. When she came back, she immediately began to train Sydney to become an agent, teaching her everything she knew. When Irina gained full control of Prophet Five, she took Sydney with her to the headquarters, where she was taught by some of the finest spies of the century. __Sydney was almost 16 before any more kids her age where brought to the headquarters. It was there that she met and befriended Lauren Reed, the daughter of a future American senator. Lauren's father thought that she had been sent to a boarding school in Russia. But in reality, Lauren's mother, Olivia, was part of Prophet Five and had recruited her daughter._

"Well, long story short, we learned that Jack Bristow has finally found out the truth. So I asked my mother to let me come here. I've been craving a long term mission and I wanted to see my best friend." Sydney said bending the truth with a slight smile. She knew that Lauren would be understandably angry if she said that Irina didn't think that she was doing the job satisfactorily.

Lauren smiled. "Well it's good to see you." She repeated. "So I talked to our handler. He said that you need to focus on seducing Michael Vaughn and looking into his father's files. I'll concentrate on stealing information regarding Rambaldi. Whenever the CIA sends you on a mission, you have to write the details on a paper bag. Then you'll throw that bag in one of these 6 trashcans." Lauren handed her a paper. "Memorize the number at the bottom. You'll call the number, wait three rings, and then press the digit corresponding to the trashcan. Julian will take a look at it and he'll come up with a counter mission. Then he'll call you back, asking for 'Joey's Pizza'.You'll tell him he's got the wrong number. Then you'll go to the predetermined meeting place. For now, you'll be heading down to this old warehouse. The directions are at the bottom of the paper."

"So Sark's our handler huh?" Sydney said with a small smirk on her face while she ripped up the paper and flushed it down the toilet. Lauren looked down, blushing slightly. "You two finally together?" Sydney asked. Ever since they had turned 19 and Sark had been brought to the headquarters, Lauren had a crush on him.

Lauren nodded and was about to say something else, when the small silver coin in her hand began to beep, signaling that time was up. Lauren pocketed the coin and glanced back at her old friend. "Well, it's a pleasure to be working with you. Agent Vaughn says that you're amazing in the field," she said then sauntered out of the bathroom.

Sydney felt herself smile immediately at the mention of Michael Vaughn. Her gaze traveled back to the mirror and she quickly became focused on the mission. She took a deep breath and walked back into the rotunda.

The rotunda was buzzing with activity. Agents were rushing from one station to another, confirming intel and searching for data. Sydney stood back, just watching the oblivious agents who were unaware that there were two moles, two traitors, in their midst. She spotted Lauren to her left, chatting with their tech guy, Marshall Flinkman. Lauren laughed at something that Marshall said. He smiled and laughed as well, in awe that she was talking to him. He didn't see her nonchalantly touch the edge of the computer with the sapphire on her ring; copying the file on Rambaldi artifacts he had open on the screen.

"Hey, you ok?" Vaughn asked, coming up behind her.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine." Sydney replied, flashing him a smile, while she had to remind herself that she couldn't run her fingers through his rumpled hair. Not yet anyway.

"Ok." Vaughn said, obviously not believing her. He dropped the subject, knowing that even if he pursued the subject, she wouldn't tell him anything. "Well I'm supposed to take you to the safe house, so if you're ready to go…." He trailed off and gestured toward the door.

Sydney nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready." She turned and began to walk across the room. Vaughn instinctively put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the building. Sydney loved how his warm hand felt against her back. She glanced up at him, his green eyes sparkling in the light. He smiled slightly as they stepped out into the parking lot.

The ride to the safe house was spent in relative silence. Vaughn had turned on the radio and Sydney closed her eyes. She let herself drift asleep peacefully, the calm jazz music soothing her aching head, her whole body exhausted after the past few days of intense questioning. Sydney was pulled out of her slumber when she felt the car come to a halt. Vaughn unbuckled his seat belt, turned off the radio, and looked over to her.

"Syd?" He whispered, not sure what to do.

Sydney kept her eyes closed tightly, feigning sleep, as she tried not to smile at the sound of her name coming from his lips.

Vaughn stared at her for a moment longer before he stepped out of the car. He walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and slowly picked Sydney up. He walked carefully to the safe house, where the door opened and a tall man with shaggy black hair ushered him inside. The man led him to the room where Sydney would be staying. Vaughn gently laid her down on the bed. After gently removing her shoes, he draped a thin blanket over her slim figure.

"Good night." He said softly, pushing some of the hair out of her face before walking out the door, closing it slowly so he wouldn't wake her.

As soon as he left, Sydney's eyes opened. She smiled. Seducing Michael Vaughn was going to be easier than she thought.

She just had to keep herself from falling in love with him for real.


End file.
